iPhone 6 Info

Before You Get The New iPhone, Here's Everything You Need To Know

iOS still gives you fewer, more closely curated interface options. Android has much greater customizability, but at the cost of complexity and, at times, instability. iOS still integrates with Macs far better than Android does, especially with the new Handoff/Continuity feature (Windows users don't get that). Android's Gmail app kills anything the iPhone has for that service.

If you think of your smartphone as a computer that you install things on, tinker with, and discover, you probably want Android. If you think of your smartphone as a gadget that does convenient things which are made clear and obvious to you, you're more of an iOS user.

One potential game changer, Apple Pay, is not yet available. Apple Pay lets you pay for things by tapping your phone on a credit-card reader — that's something Android devices have been able to do in theory for years, but Google never got the banks and retailers on the same page. Apple might just have the market clout to do it, but only time will tell.

Photos And Multimedia

The iPhone 6 comes in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB models. The 64GB model is obviously the sweet spot. Games and movies now regularly clock in above 1GB each, so 16GB just isn't going to cut it. Apple lent us the 128GB model, which reports itself as 114GB.

Now let's talk about optical image stabilization (OIS). The iPhone 6 Plus has it, and the 6 doesn't. But I just didn't find it to be a big deal — and in fact, I found some low-light photos taken with the 6 to be better than the 6 Plus's.

First, let's establish that the iPhones — all of the iPhones — crush almost every other phone on low-light performance. I took a range of side-by-side low-light photos with the new iPhones and a Samsung Galaxy S5, and you could cry. In good daylight, the S5's extra pixels kick in and you see the additional detail in its 16-megapixel camera. But in anything other than full sunlight, the S5 tended to go blurry while the iPhones stayed sharp.

The Focus Pixels on the iPhone 6 did noticeably improve focus time, I'd estimate by about half. You can still snap a shot before focus locks in, but it's really difficult. That's great.

In extreme low-light, indoor conditions, the 6 Plus's OIS made for a sharper image with truer whites. But when I took the 6 and 6 Plus out onto city streets at night, I was shocked. A city at night has very contrasting lighting, and in this case the 6 Plus's additional brightness meant that the lights from inside windows and businesses started washing out the rest of the image. The 6's streetscape photos were better balanced.

OIS also has no effect on video — both phones take fine, 1080p video at up to 60 frames per second and 720p video at up to 240 frames per second — so I just don't see it as a reason to automatically get the 6 Plus over the 6.

In terms of playing other media, these are iPhones. They play all your media.

Conclusions

Bigger isn't always better (go look at my iPhone 6 Plus review). The right size is better. I still believe phones (rather than "phablets") should be usable as one-handed devices. Unlike with the iPhone 6 Plus, you can take a photo with the 6 while waving at someone without worrying you're going to drop the phone. You can text while carrying a bag without worrying you're going to drop the phone. You can hold it up to your head comfortably, as if anyone does that any more. (Don't worry, readers, I know you do.) And the iPhone 5 form factor is eminently pocketable, but there was no reason to be quite so small any more. You can enjoy a larger keyboard without giving up flexibility.

After handling the physical elegance of the iPhone 6 for a while, my heart breaks for Samsung: The Galaxy S5, while its screen glows more brightly and its software is full of hidden little treats, just feels cheap by comparison. The gorgeous HTC One M8 is damaged by a poor camera. The Nokia Lumia Icon, with a great body and camera, demands a jump into a much less popular OS — and willingness to suffer some seriously de-featured big-name apps.

None of this will convert the hardcore Android user, because iOS is still iOS. I myself, don't think I can give up my home screen widgets and drag-and-dropping video files. But if you're a casual smartphone user who really doesn't care which OS is running on your phone, but want a solid experience? Get a 64GB iPhone 6.